A Ghost of You
by drawyoursword1
Summary: For ybarry. Nightmares scare you without you knowing why they do. What happens when you mix nightmares with Kotetsu and Barnaby? A small, sugary ficlet rated T for scary!


DO NOT OWN TIGER AND BUNNY

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For ybarry,

A short fic of how Barnaby would take care of Tiger when hurt or in this case, scared.

Enjoi!

A Ghost of You

~~~T&B~~~

Kotetsu had fallen on the floor. Barnaby didn't know why Kotetsu's hair always looked so much better when it was messy, but for no reason whatsoever, he couldn't tear his eyes away.

Now Barnaby was used to the clumsiness of his partner, however the both of them had been drinking a good bit earlier. It was still technically 'last night' but Kotetsu had fallen asleep first, while Barnaby had woken up in usual fashion for more than a bit of thinking, and a midnight snack.

Barnaby still didn't expect to find him face first on the floor, the blanket wrapped around his right arm and left leg as though he couldn't figure out what a blanket was for. Wild Tiger breathed lightly into the freshly shampooed carpet.

"Kotetsu?" Barnaby whispered politely.

His partner stirred and moved his head to the side, revealing no small amount of red imprints on his face from the carpet. Barnaby smiled in spite of himself. 'Looks like Wild Tiger earned his stripes last night-if only they weren't so tacky-'

Barnaby grew more concerned than entertained however, when the sleeping hero suddenly gripped the tangled sheets and his breathing rose to harsh gasps. Kotetsu was having a nightmare…

"Kotetsu, hey, can you hear me? Wake up, come on, it's not real-whatever's happening is not-" Barnaby felt his heart pound faster as he saw his partner struggle with the terrible vision.

"….real….Kotetsu?"

His partner jerked up, awake and painfully aware. Then his eyes found Barnaby, causing him to backpedal violently as though Barnaby were an escaped rattlesnake.

"You-B-Barnaby?" Kotetsu whispered in disbelief.

"Kotetsu what's wrong?" said Barnaby with concern. The moon was high and shone through the empty cavern that was his apartment, making his fair skin and hair stand out white against all the objects in the room. Barnaby understood that his appearance could have started him, but Kotetsu looked like he'd seen a-

"Hey! Ah-nu-wha-What gives!?" Barnaby stuttered, his face turning a more earthly color. Kotetsu was no more than an inch in front of him, staring without explanation, poking and prodding every part of Barnaby he could reach as though Barnaby would vanish into thin air. "Kotet-what?-okay, what's wrong?" asked Barnaby earnestly, with all the calm he could manage after being somewhat irritated.

"Your eyes, they're green" whispered Kotetsu, continuing in a normal speaking voice, "they're okay…" he sighs gratefully.

"What are you carrying on about old man?"

"Sorry Bunny." Kotetsu answers wistfully, sensing his partner's irritation. "Bad dream. You were a…" Kotetsu wasn't sure how to describe how this dream pained him. It struck him to the core beyond his logic. Logic told him that he was awake, his partner was alive, and that in the real world, nothing like his dream could happen. Still, he was shaken. "…..a ghost. Your green eyes were gone and not-not there." Kotetsu shuddered again at the gruesome detail of his imagination. Barnaby listened quietly, his concern growing against his will while looking at his partner's frightened face.

"Neither of us had powers. You had…pushed me out of the way of a fallen building and it…c-crushed you. I d-dug you out; you were still alive, a bloody mess. I ran everywhere trying to find help for you. You told me to leave you, that 'it was a trap'. I asked you, 'what do you mean?' Th-then all the light went from your eyes, all the color, they turned white and there was, was….nothing left of them"

Kotetsu turned a green, pallid color and stared at the floor. His breathing calmed down. He looked up at Barnaby and pulled him into a crushing hug, holding his head and body in an iron grip as though tempting death to take his partner from him. Barnaby had been in wrestling holds with Kotetsu that weren't this tight.

"I promise Barnaby. That won't happen, ever…"

"Kotetsss it won't. It wasnn rlll" said Barnaby gently into the older hero's shirt, holding him back through the crushing hug as much as possible.

"I didn't get to you, I wasn't fast enough…" Barnaby dug his head out from the shoulder to clarify:

"It wasn't real."

"B-bunny-" he whispers vehemently to the room.

"Tiger…"

"It was only a nightmare, but Barnaby…that thought really does haunt me."

"What haunts you?"

Kotetsu pulled back and stared intensely into Barnaby's green, wide eyes. Barnaby caught his breath for a moment.

"I don't know what I would do If I lost you." Kotetsu breathed, a single tear escaping his shining eyes.

Both of them were quiet for a while as Kotetsu' hug lost it's crushing force. Barnaby allowed himself to be held as long as needed before asking Kotetsu if he was interested in the coffee and late night/ early morning TV route or the hot tea and back to sleep route.

Kotetsu settled for some coffee, and Barnaby stayed with him until the light of the early dawn melted away all of the fears of the night.


End file.
